The Home News
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JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2020
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Looking by Back Ed Pany Proud of the past
World War I Memorial, photo courtesy of Larry Oberly.
(Originally published in 2004) It’s getting late but I’m still years. The Keystone Cement over at Eckley E. Patch Post Company leased the land to the #470 of the American Legion. Legion many years ago and conBob Sipple, a former student, tinues to be very helpful.” served in the United States The Legion is proud of our Army in Vietnam. He also eight bowling alleys that were worked for N.C. Oplinger, updated with a sophisticated Bath’s “potato man,” loading a computer system. The lanes are delivery of tasty spuds to many open to the public and to birthdifferent locations. day parties. They have a number He has been the likable stew- of leagues including a summer ard at Eckley Patch for 24 years. adult youth league. It’s always You can always find him at the great to have parents and their post; he’s usually there every children participating in wholeday. some activities. The Home Association headThe lanes are managed by ed by Sandy Becker supervises Marty Beal and John Kerbachthe social aspects of the home. er, two fine fellows, who do evBob said, “We are very proud erything possible to assist the of the post home and all the progress we have made over the Continued on page 2
Rock Lehigh Valley curative amendment Hearing against East Allen Township begins By KERI LINDENMUTH The much-anticipated curative amendment hearing between Rock Lehigh Valley and East Allen Township officially began on January 27. The hearing’s first evening was held at the Allen Township Fire Company to smaller crowds than anticipated. Both parties gave their opening arguments and began witness testimony before postponing the hearing for another evening after Rock Lehigh Valley did not have the evidence needed to answer cross examination questions from the township. Rock Lehigh Valley filed the curative amendment petition for a hearing in July 2019, several months after East Allen Township’s Board of Supervisors rejected their rezoning request. Rock Lehigh Valley had asked the township to rezone 155 acres west of Weaversville Road from agriculture to industrial so that two one-millionsquare-foot warehouses could be
constructed. Rock Lehigh Valley filed the petition after alleging that the township acted in “bad faith” and that their zoning ordinance does not allow for a modern logistic center, something they argue is different from a warehouse.
----------------------A logistic center is nothing more than a fancy name for a warehouse. Kimberly Freimuth ----------------------Rock Lehigh Valley is being represented by Chris McLean and Joseph Fitzpatrick from Fitpatrick, Lentz, and Bubba. In his opening arguments, Fitzpatrick acknowledged that public opinion of the developers is not popular, but said that the developers remain committed to righting a wrong they see in the township’s ordinance.
Every municipality, he said, must present equal opportunities for land uses, especially in areas of growth. Warehousing, which is a by-right use in the township, implies distribution. A logistic center, he said, is different. Online orders, popular online subscription boxes, and prescription orders...anything coming from the online retail boom...is not coming from a rural, standalone warehouse. This, he argues, is what makes a logistic center a unique use that East Allen Township does not account for. “This is not a seat-of-the-pants effort [or] shot in the dark,” he said. Kimberly Freimuth, special counsel for the township, did not agree with Fitzpatrick’s definition. “A logistic center is nothing more than a fancy name for a warehouse,” she argued. She argued that there are plenty of uses for the parcel of land, de-
Developers Present plan For 452,000+ Square foot Warehouse On Airport Road By KERI LINDENMUTH
spite Rock Lehigh Valley’s claims that its agricultural use makes it outdated and unusable. “Their challenge has no merit,” she added. Rock Lehigh Valley was the first to call a witness in Johanna Chervak, Director of Real Estate Development for the Rockefeller Group’s northeast district. She has been with the project since its conception in 2012. She said that Rockefeller was drawn to the Lehigh Valley because it is a “leading market in the country for logistics.” Over one-third of the U.S. population and half of the Canadian population can be reached in a day’s drive. The area’s strong labor force and access to Routes 22, 78, 33, and 81 also made it an attractive area. When asked about the benefits such a development would bring, Chervak testified that the new development would bring an additional $265,000 to the township, $1 million to the school district, and $450,000 to the county in real estate taxes.
On Thursday, January 23, Imperial Realty Property Group representatives stood before the East Allen Township Board of Supervisors and made the case for a 452,000+ square foot warehouse, the latest to be proposed for the township. The warehouse would be located at 1769 Airport Road, on the corner of Airport Road and Route 329. It would replace the current Airport Road Commercial Park and nearby strip mall. This was the second conditional use hearing for Imperial, following one in summer 2019. Conditional approval had already been granted to the property group in August for a 245,000 square foot warehouse on the property. However, following traffic and safety concerns, developers revamped the design and came back with several new propositions: over 200,000 additional square feet of space, the construction of a new retail plaza across Route 329, a central sewer, and $250,000 in road improvements for the township. Marc Kaplin, attorney for Imperial, said that supervisors had previously expressed concerns about traffic heading eastbound on Route 329. A large hill blocks site of the traffic light at the Airport Road intersection. Backups at this light can become dangerous. Kaplin said that Imperial took those concerns “to heart.” Their new plans provide the township with a right-of-way and $250,000 to work with PennDOT to make safety improvements to the state roads. They attended the hearing with a proposed traffic plan, which included a right-turn lane eastbound on Route 329 for drivers turning southbound onto Air-
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New PHOTO OF THE MONTH contest! See page 14 for details.